’Dynamic Cooperation’ in International Law and the Shadow of State Sovereignty in the Context of Transboundary Waters (Part 2)

University of Dundee - Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science; Xiamen Law School - China International Water Law (CIWL)

Date Written: April 1, 2013

Abstract

The duty to cooperate, the bedrock of international law, continues to evolve as new global challenges emerge that test the boundaries of state sovereignty. This work explores the duty to cooperate through the prism of transboundary waters in the context of impending conflicts-of-use as demands increase to meet growing economic, social, cultural and environmental needs. What are the obligations on sovereign nation states as they develop and manage their shared water resources? This article argues that a norm of ‘dynamic cooperation’ is emerging in the field, with its origins at the very core of international law, and which provides a platform for the continued peaceful management of the world’s shared fresh waters. With 2013 declared as the UN International Year of Water Cooperation it is hoped that this provides the impetus to explore more fully the ‘duty to cooperate’ as it relates to the development and management of the world’s shared freshwater resources. (From the opening of part 1.)

Keywords: international water law, transboundary water law, water security

Wouters, Patricia, ’Dynamic Cooperation’ in International Law and the Shadow of State Sovereignty in the Context of Transboundary Waters (Part 2) (April 1, 2013). Environmental Liability, 4, pp. 131-144, 2013. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2361667